Love The Way You Lie
by Ashen Lilies
Summary: They had no idea she would never be TRULY free. It would be a long time until Morpheus and his crew ever found out what happened to her. WARNING OC  I DONT OWN THE MATRIX.
1. Chapter 1

**Yeah…DON'T THROW THINGS AT ME! This is my attempt at writing a Matrix fic, and I'm including my OC. I'm trying my very hardest to make sure she isn't a Sue. After you read this, be as honest as you can. I need some help on this one guys.**

What is the Matrix. The question had plagued her for many years. She couldn't get it out of her mind. Something was wrong with her world. It felt like a dream, a very real dream, but a dream none the less. Months of searching and hours of hacking had gotten her closer to the answer of the question.

Through hacking, she had come in contact with a person called Morpheus. He told her that he would give her the answer. He could tell her the truth about the world.. The truth she had worked to find. She could finally understand.

They had no idea that she would never be freed. Before Morpheus could find her, she disappeared. She was gone without a trace. It was as if she had been wiped off the face of the earth. It would be a long time before Morpheus or his crew ever found out what happened to her, what happened to Marina Sanders.

**April 10, 1998**

_Echo, we're coming for you in three days time. Be outside your apartment at midnight, and we'll take you somewhere safe to tell you the truth and give you a choice._

_Alright, but what if the "others" you told me about find out? Three days is a long time to wait, Morpheus._

_Trust me. They won't find you. We'll lie low for the next few days and then we'll take you._

_Ok. I trust you._

_Until the 13__th__, Echo._

Then her computer screen turned back to normal. She tried to calm herself. "_It's ok, calm down, it's just three days. You can do it, stop being paranoid." _She told herself, and lay down on her bed. She couldn't help but be a little nervous. From what this Morpheus had told her, these "others" seemed like a threat. The last thing she wanted was for them to find her. _"He said they wouldn't find you, have a little faith!"_ she reminded herself. Since she was too tired to do much of anything else, Marina fell asleep for a few hours.

She woke up to someone knocking on her door.

"Who could it be at.." she glanced at the clock on her bedside table, "four in the morning? Geez, this better be good." She grumbled, and made her way towards the door.

When she opened the door, she was met by three men in suits with their eyes hidden by dark sunglasses.

"…can I help you, sir?" she asked the tallest.

"Yes, you can, Ms. Sanders." He replied in an emotionless monotone, "We need you to come with us."

Marina became uncharacteristically nervous, "Um…no thank you."

Why were these creeps asking her to go with them? They couldn't be Morpheus; he only knew her hacker name: Echo.

He gave her a snide smile, "Oh it's alright, we don't bite."

It was the last thing she heard before she felt a blow to her head and everything went black.

**Reviews are VERY much appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**If anybody cares about this fic enough to keep reading, then let me quickly explain something. I changed the name for this fic multiple times because…I don't know, the story just didn't seem to have a name. Then around midnight last night, I was listening to "Close Your Eyes" which is a love theme for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The melody seemed to remind me a lot of Marina, and since I have the plot of this story mapped out in my mind, it also reminded me of a relationship she **_**MIGHT**_** have in the future. I would encourage you to go look the song up on YouTube for an idea of what I'm talking about if you've not already heard the song. It's quite beautiful. C:**

_THREE MONTHS PRIOR TO MARINA'S CAPTURE…_

Smith watched the annoyingly active squirrel jump and play around the city tree from a nearby window. With no worries, not a care in the world, the squirrel happily wasted time burning endless energy. Then, out of nowhere, a hawk swooped down, grabbed the helpless rodent in its talons, and flew off with its meal.

Smith smiled sadistically. The hawk always got what it wanted. _Always. _Yes, occasionally its prey escaped, but only for a while. When it was all said and done, the prey would be mercilessly ripped to shreds; killed by the hawk.

This relationship between predator and prey could be compared with the Agents relationship with the rebels. They were lucky enough to slip past the Agents _sometimes,_ but in the end, they were usually eliminated one by one. If they were not eliminated by death, then they were reinserted.

Filled with a sense of authority and invincibility, Smith thought, "_I am the perfect Agent. Therefore, I am the perfect predator." _

Smith had always prided himself (as much as an Agent can) with being the perfect Agent. He was fast, strong, obedient, and merciless. Nearly no one survived or got past him. When he caught a rebel, if he did not shoot them on the spot, then he would torture them into giving him information on the resistance. Only when they had given him information or they begged to be killed would he finally draw his black Desert Eagle. Even then, he would sometimes keep up the torture just for the sport of it.

This new hacker would be no different. This, "Marina Sanders". They would use her for what they needed, then she would be disposed of, just like all the previous rebels.

What they were planning t do was take the girl, get all the information they could from her, then wipe her memory. When she came to, they would tell her she had been on a mission for them, and the rebels had gotten to her first and wiped her memory. Of course, when she started working for them, there was no doubt in Smith's mid that the rebels would come after her, try to let her see the truth. But the harder they tried to free Marina, the closer they would get to the agents. And the closer they got to the agents, they closer they got to death. They would use Marina to pick the rebels off one by one. Then, they would kill her as well.

It was just too perfect.

**Review please? :3 be kind!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Here is Capitulo (Spanish for chapter) three!**

"There is no need for you to be alarmed, Ms. Sanders. We just need a few answers from you." Smith explained calmly.

Echo squirmed in the metal chair, "What kind of answers?"

"We have been tracking an individual who goes by the alias 'Morpheus'." When Smith said that name, Echo's heart jumped into her throat.

_Oh shit. It's _them.

"And what does this 'Morpheus' person have to do with me?" she asked, trying with all her might to keep her voice from showing any trace of fear.

"We've been tracking him for a while. Usually the people he comes in contact with either wind up dead or committed.

You see, he finds people, and makes them…think things. Things that are not real. Things that most people would consider, shall we say, 'insane'.

We know for a fact he has only recently come in contact with you, and we guess you are his newest target. For your own safety, we need you to tell us anything and everything you know about him."

Echo rolled her eyes. Did they honestly expect her to believe that malarkey? Did she look like she was born yesterday?

"If you guys are so high and mighty, why don't you know anything already? Did you not try to save the other 'victims'?" she asked, sass thick in her tone.

"Unfortunately the other victims lost their minds before we could reach them."

Echo rolled her eyes, "Yeah, uh huh. Sir, I'm not stupid. I know who you are. And you are _not_ here to help me."

Smith's expression remained unreadable, "Oh really? And what makes you so sure?"

"He told me about you. He told me that if you found me, you'd try to do this. I'm not a freakin' retard." She snapped.

A snide grin spread across the AI's face, "If I were you, Ms. Sanders, I would be a little more respectful."

With inhuman swiftness, the agents beside Smith grabbed Echo and dragged her across the room. She was strapped into a chair which was equipped with arm like appendages, but this was the least of Echo's worries. Her eyes widened in horror as she glanced over to the table beside the chair. Resting on the table was a sliver tray filled with syringes and needles, menacingly glinting in the artificial light.

"Let me **go** you stupid bastards!" she shrieked, her eyes wide in rage and fear.

Smith stood over her smirking, "Hush. We will let you go if you tell us everything you know about Morpheus. That's all we want."

Echo continued to thrash against her restraints, "I don't fucking know! All I know is his hacker name; he wouldn't give me any other information!"

Smith sighed, "Then I am sorry, Ms. Sanders."

Then, Echo was enveloped in white hot pain. Something was jammed into the back of her skull. She felt energy coursing through her brain, turning her vision white with pain.

Everything was a white blur of agony. She couldn't hear herself screaming, although she felt her vocal cords vibrating in her throat. She couldn't escape. She couldn't wriggle free. She was trapped in a world of torturous hurt.

After a few moments, she felt her herself slip away in unconsciousness. The pain ebbed away into an aching throb in her brain.

Everything turned to nothingness. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear. She could barely think. She had no idea where she was, who she was, or how any of this had happened.

"Is it finished?" Jones asked.

"For the most part, yes. When she comes around she will remember nothing. She won't even know her own name." he answered, his eyes still fixed on the moaning, unconscious woman.

"You will be the damnation of your own precious resistance, Ms. Sanders." He murmured to her, and turned away from her.

**InTENSE. **

**By the way, this will most likely be a Smith/OC fic…DON'T LAUGH AT ME!**

**Please review! :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Helleww! :3 This chapter is in Marina's P.O.V.**

**Hurray for more Title changes!**

I tried to open my eyes, but the fluorescent light burned and blurred my vision. Where was I? How did I get here? Who did those voices belong to?

"Sanders? Sanders can you hear me? _Marina?" _A voice called. Marina? Was that me? Why couldn't I remember anything?

I squinted, trying once more to open my eyes, "What…who are you? Where am I?"

The man in the suit sighed, "Smith, she can't remember anything. They must have wiped her."

Wait, who did _what_ to me? What on earth were these men talking about? "Who 'wiped' me, and what does that mean?" I asked.

Another man in a dark suit approached me, "Sanders, can you remember my name? What's my name?" he asked in a deep, monotone voice.

"I don't know! Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" I exclaimed, then immediately regretted it as my head began to pound and my ears rang.

His frown deepened and he pushed me back down onto the stretcher-like bed I was laying on, "Calm down. Try not to talk too much, save your energy for later. Your name is Marina Sanders, and you work with us. I am Agent smith, and these men are Agent Brown and Agent Jones."

I cocked an eyebrow, "Agent? So do we work for like the government or something?"

"Not exactly. Sanders, do you remember anything about the Matrix?" he asked.

I wracked my brain, trying desperately to remember anything, "I don't think so…why? What is it?"

"The Matrix is an artificial world for humanity. Sometime in the early 21st century, a war began between then humans and AI, or artificial intelligence. Sometime within that war, the first Matrix was created. It was originally designed to be a perfect world, a utopian society. But it was disastrous, no one could accept a perfect world as reality. So, the next Matrix created contained flaws; crime, terrorism, hate, prejudices, everything that humans define as 'real'."

I was in shock, "So…this isn't real? We're all just slaves to a race of machines?"

"Only the humans are." He replied.

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, and what are you, an Elf?"

"We are programs used in the Matrix to keep order, Sanders. The people who wiped your memory are rebels, people who sometimes call themselves 'freedom fighters'. We- Agents Brown, Jones and I- were created to keep peace in the Matrix. The rebels might think what they are doing is for the greater good of humanity…but think about it. The humans are oblivious to their situation. For them, the Matrix is reality. All the rebels are doing is compromising the welfare and sanity of the human race."

My eyes were wide with horror ad astonishment, "You're…you're not _human_? And how did these rebels get to me? Why would they wipe my memory?"

"That is correct, You are human, but we are not. And the rebels want you to fight with them. They will draft anyone who has any knowledge of the matrix at all. Before they wiped you, you did have knowledge of it. You were with us, trying to catch the rebel leader, Morpheus. We had split up and were tracking him, but as far as we can tell, they captured and took you, trying to torture out any information about us out of you. As a last resort, they wiped your memory of the incident. We guess that when you woke up they would tell you another version of the story and ask you to joint hem. We were able to get you out before they could do much else to you." He explained nonchalantly.

I was almost speechless, "…O my God. This can't be happening."

"Actually it can. It has to be happening, otherwise none of us would be here." He countered.

"You know what I mean," I snapped, "Do you have to be such a smart Alec?"

"Yes." He said smugly.

I paused for a moment, "Do…do I have a family? Do they know about my job?"

"They were killed by the rebels before you joined us. That's one of the reasons you made the decision to help us." He replied.

Little did I know that my family's code had been altered so that even if they looked me in the eyes, There was no way they could recognize me.

I realized I was completely alone, "So…they're all dead? All of them? I don't even have any cousins or aunts or uncles that could be alive?"

"No, The rebels were very thorough in making sure they got everyone. I'm sorry." He added, although it sounded like an empty gesture.

"Oh…" I whispered, biting back tears. I _would_ not cry in front of the agents. I _wouldn't_, "Well, um…can I go back to sleep? I feel terrible."

"Of course." He replied, and the three agents exited the room. On his way out, Smith closed the door and dimmed the lights for me. At last I was enveloped in darkness, and I could cry. I cried for the family I couldn't remember, I cried for the lifetime of memories I had lost, I cried for the job I had 'forgotten' how to do, and mostly, I cried for the fact that I was completely alone in this world…unless you counted the AI that I had just met.

I had no idea the sensitive ears of the agents had picked up the sound of my sadness, "…Maybe we pushed her too far. How do we know this won't be too traumatic and affect her work with us?" Jones asked.

"She'll be fine in a few days. It's only natural for her to react this way at first, but we've watched her long enough to know she's strong. She'll be fine." Smith repeated.

…**Is this getting Sue-y? Please tell me in the reviews! Sorry the chapter was a little short :( **


	5. Chapter 5

**Forgive me! I'm so sorry for the long wait; I was JUST in a musical, so my schedule was CRAZY. This chapter takes place around a year and a half after Echo's capture.**

**This is a look into the more "human" side of Echo.**

The children chased each other on the swings, laughing playing, and screaming. Mothers kept a watchful on their children from benches, where they sat and socialized with other parents. They were happy. They were oblivious. They were innocent. How Echo envied them. They had no idea that none of this was real, that they had been laying in pods their entire lives…that they were slaves to en enemy that they couldn't see. Echo always came to this park when she was troubled; it cleared her mind and calmed her down, especially after an interrogation. She and the agents had most recently interrogated a young hacker, only about a year younger than she. He had been stubborn, this hacker, and the agents hadn't been easy on him. For hours they drugged and tortured him in vain; for he would not speak a word of the resistance or its members.

In the beginning, the interrogations used to bother Echo immensely. She believed the way of dealing with hackers and resistance members to be inhumane. She would remain for the spoken words at the beginnings of interrogations, and would then have to leave for the torture. She just couldn't stand it. After a few months though, she got used to it, as she began to see the resistance members as terrorists – an endangerment to the survival of her own species. She started to stay for the torture, and a few months later, assist in them. Her mind had been hardened, and her outlook turned cynical. Smith seemed to be pleased with her colder demeanor.

And yet, she couldn't deny her obvious human instincts. Yes, she was cynical, but she still had her moments of sympathy, happiness, fear, pride, and even lust. It was the one of the two things that would forever set her apart from the 'men' she worked with.

The other was her burning desire for a child. She tried to suppress it and dismiss it as a childish fantasy. Her, having a baby? In her line of work? It was simply not possible. But then…there were those times when she would see a mother on the street, pushing a stroller with a beautiful blonde baby inside…and she would wish with all her heart for that woman to be her. She did her best to make sure that Smith and the other agents never found out about her secret wish. They would think her soft, unfit for her job.

Echo was wrenched from her thoughts went she felt a little hand on her knee. She looked down, and her gaze was met by a little girl in overalls, who looked no more than two years of age.

She smiled gently and crouched down, so that she was eye-level with the toddler, "Hey there cutie. What's up?" she asked animatedly.

The little girl returned her smile, and held out a pine cone, "Da dada Da Da Da." She replied in her own baby language,

"Yes, that's a lovely pine cone you got there!" Echo laughed, "Where your mommy, huh?"

"Violet! Sweetie Mama's over here!" a young and very pregnant woman called, striding over to them.

The mother bent down and placed the toddler on her hip, "I'm sorry Miss, she likes to wander off. She didn't bug you did she?"

Echo's smile softened, "Ooh no, she was perfectly fine. She's a pretty girl." She added.

"Thank you very much! Come on honey. We got to go home. Say bye-bye!" the mother said to her daughter.

"Ba ba!" the little girl squealed. Echo laughed, "Ha ha, bye!"

She watched the mother walk towards her car for a moment, and then her stomach did a flip-flop as she turned around to see agent Brown standing behind her.

"Brown! Uh, what are you doing here?" she asked nervously.

His face revealed no emotion, "Smith wants you back at headquarters." He stated in his monotone, silky voice.

Echo simply nodded, and walked silently to the black Audi with the agent. While they drove back, the silence seemed deafening to both of them. After what seemed like an eternity, the agent finally spoke,

"You know it's natural."

Echo was taken by surprise, "Huh? What did you say?"

"I said it's natural. For you to want a child." He stated again

She turned to Brown, eyes wide, "Just because I interact with kids at a park doesn't mean I want some of my own!" she defended.

Brown sighed, rolling his eyes, "We aren't stupid Sanders. It's easy to tell by your behavior in situations involving children that you want to be a mother. You don't have to be so defensive about it; it's a female's instinct to wish to have something of her own to nurture. As disgusting as it is, it's built into you, an instinct."

Echo said nothing. A moment after Brown had finished, she sighed, and turned on the radio. Brown turned his eyes back to the road.

_Difficult human…_ he muttered under his breath.

**Sorry this chapter was a little fast, but I feel like I had to put **_**something **_**up after so long. **

**As I said at the beginning, this was a look into Echo's thoughts and "human" side, so I did go off on a little tangent from the actual story line. I'm sorry if it was boring :(**

**Please review! :D**


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